Seniors Speak Out: Athletic opportunities for students with disabilities

The Daily Local News recently reported that the government has officially prompted schools to reconsider the athletic opportunities that are offered to students with disabilities, requiring that creative thinking be employed and simple modifications be made to endow these students with the ability to participate in team sports with their fellow classmates. Three residents of Barclay Friends Continuing Care Community in West Chester share their thoughts about just how possible this goal may be.

Mary Reynolds

“I’m older, so I may feel differently (than others, but I think) they should have every opportunity. Parents should take on more of the responsibility. It will make (the students) a bigger part of life.” Implementing it might not work “if they are older,” she says, “but if (the integration) starts young it would become acceptable.”

Marjorie Williams

“I had two brothers growing up, so I played baseball with them. Girls didn’t get involved in sports at that time. We lived in Westtown and went to school in West Chester, and if you didn’t catch the bus you would have to walk home, and that sort of determined what you did. My daughter never really had that problem; she played basketball. I have a son too, and he played in the band. If (the child) has the ability to play, I don’t see why he or she shouldn’t. When I was growing up I knew someone who had paralysis and walked with a cane. Well, I used to play tennis with him, and there was no one who could play better than he could.”

John Dougherty

“(The schools) should help (these students) out if they can,” says John. He muses that he doesn’t think it would cause any large disturbance unless taxes went up. “How could anyone have any possible objection?” he asks. “I think the number of people who are disabled is increasing, and the public is becoming more aware.” From his perspective, “it wasn’t really an issue in my day. There was a man with whom I went to school, and it wasn’t a question, because that man didn’t want to play. I went to a large, local Catholic boys’ high school. I played football, and now I follow my grandson’s football team. There was a mentally handicapped young man on his team, and during games he would say hello to his mom in the stands. I saw a game in which both teams came together and set up a special play for this young man. My son’s team set him up to catch the ball and run for a touchdown, and the opposing team pretended to tackle him. Well, he made the touchdown, and you couldn’t have given that man a million dollars, he was so overjoyed. He ran to the stands and said ‘I love you’ to his mom. And there have been other cases,” he adds. “I remember a physically overweight young man who came every day to practice with the team. During a game in which his team was ahead, his team put him in and went wild for him.”